WBSO · FINANCIAL
WBSO hourly wage and wage costs
WBSO covers a percentage of your R&D wage costs — for employers via a reduction of the payroll tax withheld. Which hourly wage you may use, how the flat rate works and what that means in euros: that is what this page covers, with the 2026 figures and the announced change for 2027.
Which R&D hourly wage may you use?
New applicants calculate with a flat-rate hourly wage of € 29 (2026). If your company already has historical R&D wage data at RVO, RVO uses your average actual R&D hourly wage from two calendar years earlier. That average is determined on the basis of the citizen service numbers (BSN) you have provided per R&D employee.
Announced for 2027: the flat-rate hourly wage is expected to rise from € 29 to € 33. The increase has been proposed in the Fiscal Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2027 (Fiscale verzamelwet 2027) and will become final after parliamentary approval. See WBSO 2027.
From hours to wage costs
The calculation is simple: R&D wages = number of R&D hours × R&D hourly wage. With 2,000 hours at the flat-rate hourly wage, that is 2,000 × € 29 = € 58,000. An amount for costs and expenditures (flat rate or actual) may be added, giving the total R&D base on which the percentage applies.
Calculation example first bracket 2026: € 58,000 + flat rate € 22,800 = € 80,800 base × 36% = € 29,088 benefit via lower payroll tax withholding.
What falls under R&D wage costs?
- The wages of employees who actually record R&D hours (employed or equivalent).
- Proportionally: only the hours spent on the R&D project.
- Also allowances, bonuses and commission pro rata, and a flat-rate compensation for social security contributions.
- Not: wages for production, implementation, sales, support or management — those hours are not R&D.
Note: a hired developer from an external agency does not count as R&D wages. Your own staff wages are the starting point of the scheme.
Wage costs and records
Your R&D wage records must connect to the payroll records you already keep: per employee, per period, per project. In an audit, RVO may ask for timesheets, project files and the payslips of the employees involved. A good setup in advance prevents discussion afterwards.
More on this: WBSO records and timesheet records.
Want to know what your project yields in wage costs?
I will work through your situation — including the choice between flat rate and actual costs and the effect of the 2027 hourly wage.
Have your project assessed without obligation →SOURCES AND SUBSTANTIVE REVIEW
Reviewed by Peter Klaren, WBSO specialist since 2004. Last substantively updated: 21 September 2026.